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Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:10 am
by Beljoakes
Hi,
I am trying hard to help out my mother, born in Paisley at the end of WWII, retrace some of her childhood memories.
She use to travel to visit my great great aunt, Mrs Isa McMeneny, née Braidwood in Saltcoats, from Paisley, as a child. Mum left Scotland in 1951 and trying to track down most places has been fairly easy, but not this time.
Aunt Isa used to host her younger brother and his wife, my great grandparents (Peter & Mary Braidwood), plus my grandparents (Bill & Mary Braidwood). My mother was an only child of an only child and was brought down to see Aunt Isa, herself childless, as often as possible. As she was 10 years older than my great grandpa, she would have been in her late 70’s, early 80’s in the early 1950’s.
Aunt Isa’s husband Hugh had been a Stonemason and specialised in cutting Marble. She died at home in 1957, as far as we can make out, at 13 Parkend Cottages, Saltcoats, which is confirmed in the registry entry of her death.
I can’t find the cottages on Google Earth, but know it was a big stone house, grey stone and slate roof, old and large and solid are my mother’s words, with a large garden with a hedge. There is a two story house in some of the photos we do have, but the house we can see that leads to the garden had stone window casings and lintels, with 4 or 6 pane windows.
Would anyone remember these houses and where they would have been if pulled down?

Kind Regards
Belinda Oakes
Brisbane, Australia.

Re: Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 2:23 pm
by Penny Tray
Belinda,

There were houses in Parkend Road at its junction with Gladstone Road which were referred to in the mid 1960s as "The Cottages" but were never to the best of my knowledge "Parkend Cottages" as a street in their own right, and I haven't been able to find them as such on street maps.

I've sent you a 'private message' with additional information.

Re: Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:23 pm
by Norrie Ford
My Mum (Patsy McGowan) Granny (Babs McGowan) two Uncles and an Aunt all lived in Parkend road. My Uncle Joe used to always talk about 'doon Parkend' refering to his childhood.
The houses are long gone as I never got to see where they stayed.

Re: Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 12:01 pm
by gnyaff
Hello Norrie,

I just read all the posts on this subject, first of all there were a couple of cottages between Kyleshill School and the burgh yard, then the slaughter house before the houses on Parkend Road actually started on the left as you go up. There was beautiful grey haired old lady in her eighties used to stand outside at her cottage door and smile at us young kids as we went past.

I have attached a couple of photo that will be of great interest to you, they were taken in July 1969 or 1970 in Paddington London. That must be you Mum patsy on the left at the back next to babe McGowan, then my mum on the right. In the front must be your aunt Mary next to Cathy McGowan who was a granddaughter of Babs. That's Babs with my mum sitting on my bike.

Wee Boney

P.S. I think we have met some time ago in the past, your name rings a bell with me or you might have known my brother Davie. Also, which part of the promised land are you living in?

Re: Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 2:41 pm
by stivis
Between Parkend Road and Canal Street there was a large wall (on the Canal Street side) I think there were some cottages there.
If you were to enter Parkend Avenue and could take a right that would have taken you to them(this is where the council are currently building)
For some strange reason, that's where I think the Stonemason was

Re: Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 6:34 am
by gnyaff
Just got the spade out and had a dig in the old memory banks to see what I could find, also having a look at the recent Google map the memory banks appear to be in order. When I was a lad if you had a car at the station and headed for Kilmarnock you would swing left off Vernon Street and onto the rail bridge which is now called Kyleshill and then a swing right at the other end of the bridge into Canal Street. Canal Street once began as soon as you swung to the right. There were also two other choices as you went over the bridge, you could turn left into Glencairn Street and go down to join Raise street, or you could drive straight on which was Nineyard Street this is now only a footpath which ran along the side of Kyleshill School and ran as far as the now Barnett Crescent, that is where Parkend Road began and still does. Looking at the satellite map there is a green triangle to the right of Nineyard Street adjacent to Kyleshill School as you drive towards Parkend Road. There was a row of terraced cottages which started at Glencairn Street and ran three quarters of the way down to about level with the last row of cars in the picture. You could turn immediately right there and walk down to Canal Street. On turning right there was a large yard of some description, obviously a builder or even a stone mason I would not know. Next to that yard there was a two story house, the only one in that short street. Behind Kyleshill School there was the burgh yard and the slaughter houses which also went into the vacant land behind Parkend Road. At one time Saltcoats only went as far as the Caley railway and what was now Townhead road and all that area was known as Parkend. Maybe the cottages I've mentioned were called Parkend because they were in that area. I hope this helps Belinda, I will see if I can find an old map and check this out.

Wee Boney

Re: Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 9:00 am
by stivis
there were cottages next to where Kyleshill Motors was, which I think is the grassy bit facing the bottom entrance to Parkend Road

Re: Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 12:01 pm
by gnyaff
Yes Stivis there were cottages facing Kyleshill School. Hahaya2004 has been kind enough to send me a couple of Ordnance survey maps of the area and sure enough there a buildings where I said they were.

Wee Boney

Re: Parkend Cottages, c 1957

Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 7:59 pm
by stivis
I spoke to a lady who is familiar with the area, and she said if you go up Parkend Rd heading for the Gladstone/Guthrie Rd junction on the right hand side as you meet the McIsaac Rd (on the left) and look to the right that's where they were BUT some still exist prior to the Parkend/Guthrie/Gladstone junction and continue over the road to (which is still Parkend Rd )it nearly meets Kerr Ave (which starts at the little bridge)

Go for a wander on google earth, you'll see where I mean

I was also informed that there was a "Star Bar" in the local